UN / Geneva: NPWJ and NRPTT convene Side Event on "Syria after tyranny: achieving a democratic and pluralistic future"

Geneva, UNHRC, Palais des Nations, 25 June 2015

On the occasion of the 29th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, No Peace Without Justice and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), together with the Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum, are convening a Side Event on "Syria after tyranny: achieving a democratic and pluralistic future", which will be held on 25 June 2015 (from 13h00 to 15h00, Palais des Nations, Room XXI). The meeting is co-sponsored by the Governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey, USA and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces.

Panelists of the meeting, to be co-Chaired by Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, Secretary General No Peace Without Justice and Hussein Sabbagh, Secretary General of Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum, include Hisham Marwah, Vice President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Bassma Kodmani, Arab Reform Initiative, Amir Kazkaz, Violations Documentation Center in Syria, Imad Al-Din Al-Rashid, Chair of the Political Bureau, Syrian National Movement, Alison Smith, Legal Counsel andDirector of the International Criminal Justice Program of No Peace Without Justice.

This side event will focus on the role of civic engagement, victims’ rights and accountability as fundamental requirements to ensure there can be a democratic process in Syria that can break the dual tyranny of extremism and dictatorship.

With the fourth anniversary of the inception of the Syrian uprising, the future of that country and its citizens continues to grow bleaker. In addition to findings by Syrian non-governmental actors monitoring the violations since November 2011, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has documented patterns of summary executions, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other sexual and gender-based violence, starvation sieges, forced displacement, and deliberate bombardment of civilians, including with the continued use of chemical weapons.

Crushed between the mass atrocities of Al-Assad regime’s forces and the fanatical savagery of terrorist groups and foreign militias, Syria’s people are looking both for an end to violence, and for justice and redress as concrete alternatives to the dual tyranny of extremism and dictatorship. The meeting will serve as a reminder that to achieve a lasting political solution to the Syrian war, the international community must overcome obstacles to accountability and instead act upon it as a necessity for the future of Syria.

For further information, please contact Gianluca Eramo (MENA Democracy program Coordinator) on geramo@npwj.org or Nicola Giovannini (Press & Public Affairs Coordinator) on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32-2-548-3915.